Friday, November 25, 2016

BEVERLY GARLAND - Her Horror & Sci-Fi Movies From 1953-69

Today's Friday, so, time to focus on another Scream Queen and the cool movies they starred in... Beverly Garland was born in Santa Cruz, California, she eventually studied dramatics under Anita Arliss, the sister of renowned stage and screen star George Arliss. She first acted in a small theater in Glendale, then, in Phoenix after her family relocated to Arizona. Beverly also worked in radio and appeared scantily clad in a few risqué shorts before making her feature film debut as a supporting part in D.O.A. in 1950. Her husbands include actor Richard (ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS) Garland and land developer, Fillmore Crank, who built the two hotels which bear her name! And, she is also the recipient of one of the entertainment industry's highest honors, receiving her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1983. One of my ex-girlfriends told me that Beverly and Richard used to meet at her place in the late fifties to work on their acting arts along with other actors!!

Beverly's first horror movie was THE NEANDERTHAL MAN in 1953, where she plays a curvaceous photogenic girlfriend. You can see her there in one of the bottom photos.

She appeared in the weird sci-fi comedy, THE ROCKET MAN, in 1954. Check out those stars... Charles Coburn, Spring Byington, Anne Francis, John Agar and George 'Foghorn' Winslow!

Beverly is a kick ass wife in this classic Corman production, which also stars one of Paul Blaisdell's greatest creations, IT CONQUERED THE WORLD in 1956. Although I missed this one when it came out, I remember seeing the creepy poster at the theater!

My dad took me to see CARUCU, BEAST OF THE AMAZON in 1956 when I was a big 8 years old. I seem to remember lots of green and big, sharp claws!

Saw NOT OF THIS EARTH in 1957, Beverly looked great in a bathing suit in the role of the doctor's assistant. I remember Blaisdell's Umbrella Monster the most, it was so eerie!!

I also saw THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE in 1959. I went with some older female cousins and they laughed at me when I covered my eyes during the 'scary' parts!

Then, she starred with Vincent Price in this AIP Poe classic, TWICE-TOLD TALES aka NIGHTS OF TERROR, in 1963. I think Eegah!! and I probably saw this one when it came out.

Lastly, Beverly had a small part in THE MAD ROOM in 1969. It's lousy posters like this that give Horror Movies a bad name!!

Now, here are a few nice photos of Beverly to enjoy...

Well end with this great shot of Bev... Tune in tomorrow for more from... The Dungeon!

2 comments:

I don't want to generalize about them, but so many of those "empowered woman" suspense stories you see now don't use much subtlety about it, they just hit you over the head with the idea. Beverly Garland played "empowered women" that were really complete characters (especially in Roger Corman films), and she was doing it in the ' 50s!

DWRAYGER DUNGEON PRESENTS: The Monster Movie Music Manifesto

Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Spy, Super-Hero, JD, Thriller and Noir films, that's what we like, and a recurring theme in a lot of those kinds of movies has always been music! There were rockin' clubs and cafes with cool jukeboxes, teen poolside parties with local bands, sometimes it was a seedy bar with a sleazy torch singer, a beatnik coffeehouse, maybe dancing somewhere in outer space, or some weird tribal ceremony on a cool secluded island with giant monsters running around, and you could count on it that a lot of the time there was smoking and drinking going on. It was a fun time!! A lot of movies also had quirky, swingin', jazzy or rockin' themes or credits, or maybe just some wild Psychotronic elements! We started with the music from 50's & 60's Monster Movies, but we later morphed into the new, bigger and better, Rock and Soul, 70's brevity, 80's maybes, 1940's Gorilla and Bela site from Hell! So, sit down, and take a load off, pour yourself a cool one, and order up something hot and greasy, because we have a lot of tasty tidbits on the menu, way outside the realm of good taste! If any of the postings just happen to step on anybody's toes, let us know & we will remove them immediately, if not sooner!! We recognize all formal copyrights, and do this solely to support and promote the films featured! This forum is only being presented in a critical and scholarly critique, and should not be construed as anything else. It's just all for Fun & Historical Education in an effort to keep bad taste alive forever!!! If the words and pictures pique your interest, then please go out & buy, or rent the movies, wherever you can find them! All soundclips are approximately two minutes long, just enough to give you a feel for the movie! When we post a sound clip, it will only stay up 30 days or less!

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